Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Aug 28, 2017

How to help the disaster relief effort and recovery from Hurricane Harvey, from the Houston Chronicle:

--The American Red Cross is encouraging people to donate money on its website or to text "HARVEY" to 90999 to donate $10.
--The crowdfunding site Global Giving is attempting to raise $2 million for funds that will "exclusively support local relief and recovery efforts from this storm."
--Airbnb has launched a site for people looking for a place to stay and for those who can offer shelter. Fees are being waived for people who check in before September 1.
--Go Fund Mehas aggregated all of its individual Harvey relief campaigns in one place.
--Pets affected by Hurricane Harvey are being taken in by animal shelters across Texas, including the SPCA of Texas,Austin Pets Alive,San Antonio Humane Societyand The Houston Humane Society.
--The Texas Diaper Bank provides diapers to parents in need --something disaster relief agencies don't usually provide.
--The Texas Library Association is accepting donations to help local libraries that may have damaged books.(Bartha)

Animal Stories:

Nothing worse than a confused alligator.
Hurricane Harvey has flooded so many areas that gators live in, that it's floating them into residential neighborhoods. As the flood waters recede, unfortunately it will not be taking the gators with them.
Residents report seeing them in their driveways, hiding under cars, even on their doorsteps looking scared and disoriented. The sheriff's office warned residents, "Alligators that show up on your property during flooding and heavy rain are not out seeking you for food or trying to be aggressive, they are simply trying to deal with the weather like the rest of us. If weather is bad, please let them be as they will move when water goes down. Stay 30ft and do not attempt to move or scare off a lost or displaced alligator."
See some visiting creatures here. (Myers)

Reality Round-Up:

Animal lovers the world over will be logging into their Facebook accounts tomorrow night when Fiona --the famous hippopotamus from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden-- is launching her own show! The little lady was born six-weeks early last January and weighed in at just 29-pounds --about 25 less than a typical newborn hippo. Fiona has a big passion for life, is thriving these days and weighed in at 451-pounds last week.
Look for "The Fiona Show" to debut tomorrow night with exclusive video from her birth.(Lee)